Friday is the deadline for comments on the GIPSA Farmer Fair Practice Rules. Nebraska Pork Producers Association Executive Director Al Juhnke says his group opposes the rule and thinks the USDA needs to step back and do it over.

He says the Farmer Fair Practice rules were rushed through by the Obama administration. They are strict regulations that will hurt pork producer’s contracts with meatpackers and with other producers, plus it will lead to more and costly litigation.

Juhnke says a more reasonable rule needs to be developed by USDA.

Those groups backing the GIPSA rules including the National Farmers Union say the rules are needed to ensure producers are protected from the anticompetitive practices of meatpackers.